Fire-escape.



No. 643,575. Patented Feb. I3, |900. S. W. WALKER & E. B. HORNER.

FIRE ESCAPE.

(Applicion med Aug. a, 1399.;

(No Model.)

. J wezo im Wham@ Hr/zer? me Nokms Evans co. Hom-LITRO., wAsHmGToN. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

STUART V. WALKER` AND EDWARD B. HORNER, OF MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,575, dated February 13, 1900.

Application nea August 3,1899. sentire. 726,050. or@ moa-.1.1

T a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, STUART W. WALKER and EDWARD B. HORNER, citizens of the United States, residing at Martinsburg, in the county of Berkeley and State of West Virginia,have invented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire-escapes, and

I o particularly to that class of lire-escapes wherein a sling adapted to be secured to the person is suspended from afriction device arranged to slide down arope or cable, the friction device being under the control of the person de- '15 scending the rope, whereby the speed of the descent may be regulated.

The invention has for its object, rst, to provide in a device of the character described improved means for returning it after a deo scent has been made to place it in readiness for another descent, to provide an improved friction-brake for regulating the speed of the descent, to provide improved means for automatically bringing the device to a stop in case the operator loses control of it or neglects to operate the brake, to provide means for preventing eXcessive Wear or chafng of the cable, and to improve and simplify the construction and render more safe, certain, and

,3o efficient this class of fire-escapes generally.

To these ends our invention consists in the features and in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the 3 5 claims following the description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in operative position. Fig. 2 is a longitudi- 4o nal vertical sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the iire-escape device.

VReferring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a frame or casing comprising a rectangular frame 2, recessed upon its inner side, as at 3, and a cover-plate 4, bolted to the frame 2 by means of bolts or screws 5. Journaled in the sides of the casing, one above the other, are journals or short shafts 6, on which are jour.- 5o naled grooved pulleys 7 Apertures 8 and 9 and 8 and 9 are formed in the top and bottom of the casing, through Which is passed an endless cable, (indicated by the numerals 10 and 11,) the portion 10 of said cable being led alternately around t-he opposite sides of the pulleys 7. Guide-pulleys 12 and 13 are arranged adjacent to the apertures 3 and 3a to lead the cable about the pulleys and prevent it from chafing against the sides of the apertures. The other portion l1 of the cable passes through the casing and through the apertures 9 and 9*,and also passes between one side of the casing and a pivoted cam 14, having a serrated engagingface, as shown. The cam is normally caused to engage the cable by a leaf-spring 15, one end of which is inserted in a kerf 16, cut in the end of the casing, and its other end bears against a shoulder 17 ,formed on the cam. A dovetailed recess 18 is formed in the side of the casing opposite the cam 14, and in said recess is fitted a wear-block 19, formed of wood or other suitable non-abrading material, against which the cable impinges when pressed thereagainst by the cam. The purpose of the Wear-block is to prevent the cable from being unduly chafed, abraded, or Worn. In the bottom of the casing is firmly fixed a ring 20, to which is attached a seat or sling 21, in which a person may seat himself, and a strap 22 is also preferably secured thereto intermediate its ends and is adapted to be fastened around the body of the person seated in the sling.

*The lower end of the casing is rounded, as at 23, and in the opposite sides of said end are secured staples 24. From said staples is loosely suspended a hand friction-brake comprising two parallel arms or members 25, pivotally connected together near their lower ends by metallic straps 26. The adjacent faces of the arms 25 above their pivotal point are iiat or straight, and to said faces are secured by screws 26 or any other suitable means Wear-strips 27, formed of Wood or similar non-abrading material. The wear-strips 27 are longitudinally grooved on their inner or adjacent faces, as shown, to receive and embrace the portion 10 of the cable. The adjacent faces of the arms below the pivotal point are grooved and corrugated, and one of said faces is preferably transversely serrated, as at 28, to cause the arms to firmly grasp the IOO cable. The upper ends of the arms 25 diverge outwardly, as at 29, and at their extremities extend laterally in opposite directions, as at 30, forming lugs, by means of which the friction-brake is loosely suspended from the staples 24. The portion 10 of the cable after it leaves the casing passes between the grooved wear-strips and between the corrugated lower ends of the pivoted arms, and said cable should be of sufficient length to reach the ground. The endless cable at its upper end passes about a pulley 29, which may be attached by means of a rope 30 to any convenient support in such manner as to hang over the window-sill.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. The person seeking to escape seats himself inthe sling and fastens himself securely therein by the strap 22. Then by grasping the arms 25 of the brake in his hand he may regulate the speed of his descent by causing the wear-strips ou the arms to impinge with more or less force against the portion 10 of the cable. The brake-arms normally grasp the rope with a certain amount of force or friction, and hence when a person seats himself in the sling suspended from the casing the latter has a slight downward movement, while the brake remains stationary. This results in the rounded or wedge-shaped lower end of the casing being forced between the divergiug upper ends of the brake members, thereby spreading said ends apart and forcing their lower ends toward and against the cable. By these means the entire device is held stationary, giving the person seeking to escape ample time to strap himself securely in the sling and collect himself, after which he grasps the brake members, and by pressing them together causes them to impinge with more or less force against the rope or cable, and thus regulates the speed of his descent. So should the person through eX- citement or inadvertence lose control of the brake the casing will operate to spread apart the diverging ends of the brake members and cause their lower ends to grasp the cable and stop the descent until he has had time to regain control of the brake. In descending,

the friction-pulleys about which the cable is alternately passed operate to retard the descent of the device and the portion 1l of the cable has a tendency to be drawn up through the casing. This tendency, however, is counteracted bythe cam 14, which is caused by the upward movement of the cable to impinge against the latter and bind or jam the cable between the face of the cam and the wear-block 19, whereby the portion 11 of the cable is firmly gripped and held stationary relatively to the casing. It follows, therefore, that as the casing descends on the portion lO ot' the cable the portion 11 of the cable is drawn down with it, and at the same time the portion 10 is drawn up through the casing. When the descent has been accomplished andthe sling has been detached from the person, the device may be returned by merely drawing down upon the portion 11 of the cable, whereupon said portion of the cable will pass loosely between the cam and wear-block, but Vthe frictional engagement of the pulleys with the portion 1O of the cable will cause the device to ascend therewith.

By providing the brake-arms with the two straight wear-strips in the manner described undue wear upon the cable is not only prevented, but We find that the force with which the cable is gripped and the speed ofthe descent can be much better and more promptly regulated.

XVe have throughout the specification referred to the cable as being endless, and have soindicated it in the drawings; butitwill beevident that a single length of cable separated at the ends might be employed, and by the term endless we wish to be understood that such a cable is included, the term' endless being used to indicate that the two parts l0 and 11 are formed in one piece and pass over a pulley or similar guide above the casing and brake.

Having described our invention, what we claim iS` 1. In a fire-escape, the combination with a frame or casing and a cable extending therethrough, of a friction-brake comprising two arms pivotally connected together and constructed and arranged to be spread at their upper ends by said casing.

2. In a fire-escape, the combination with the frame or casing rounded at its lower end and the cable passed therethrough, of the frictionbrake comprising two arms pivotally connected near their lower ends and having diverging upper ends adapted to engage the rounded end of the frame or casing, substantially as described.

3. In a iire-escape, the combination with the frame or casingrounded at its lower end and having laterally-projecting staples secured in the opposite sides of said end, of a frictionbrake comprising two arms pivotally connected near their lower ends and having divergent hook-shaped upper ends suspended on said staples, said arms having their faces constructed to embrace a cable passed through the frame or casing, substantially as described.

4. In a fire-escape, the combination with the frame or casing rounded at its lower end and having laterally-projecting staples secured in the opposite sides of said end, of a frictionbrake comprising two arms pivotally connected near their lower ends and having divergent upper ends suspended on said staples, said arms having their adjacent faces constructed to embrace a rope passed through the frame or casing, and a hook and pin arranged respectively on said arms and operatingto hold the latter parallel, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

5. In a fire-escape, the combination with a frame orcasing, of an endlesscable passingv IOO IIO

therethrough, means carried by the casing for frictionally gripping one portion of the cable to retard the descent of the casing, means operating to grip the other portion of the cable during the descent of the casing andllold the two immovable relatively to one another, but permitting the casing to freely travel thereon in an upward direction, and a friction-brake comprising two pivotally connected arms adapted to be spread at their upper ends by said casing, substantially as described.

6. In a fire-escape, the combination with a frame or casing, of an endless cable passing therethrough, means carried by the casing for frictionally gripping one portion of the cable to retard the descent of the casing, a pivoted cam arranged to grip" the other portion of the cable between its face and the side-of the casing during the descent of the latter and hold the two immovable relatively to one another, but permitting the casing to freely travel thereon in an upward direction, and av friction-brake comprising two pivotally-connected arms adapted to be spread at their upper ends by said casing, substantially as described.

7. In a tire-escape, the combination with a frame or casing, of an endless cable passing therethrough, means carried by the casing for frictionally gripping one portion of the cable to retard the descent of the casing, a pivoted cam, a spring for causing said cam to grip the other portion of the cable between its face and the side of the easing during the descent of the latter, but yielding to permit the casing 3 5 to freely ascend, substantially as described.

8. In a fire-escape, the combination with a frame or casing, of an endless cable passing therethrough, means carried by the casing for frictionally gripping one portion of the cable 4o to retard the descent of the casing, a wearblock of non-abrading material seated in a recess in one side of the casing, and a pivoted cam arranged opposite said wear-block and operating to grip the other portion of the ca- 45 ble during the descent of the casing but permitting the latter to freely ascend thereon, substantially as described.

9. In a fire-escape, the combination with the frame or casing rounded at its lower end and 5o the rope or cable passed therethrough, of the friction-brake comprising two arms pivotally connected near their lower ends and having diverging upper ends adapted to engage theV rounded end of the frame or casing, and wear- 5 5 strips of non-abrading material iiXed to the inner adjacent faces of said arms and grooved longitudinally, substantially as described.

`In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing wit- 6e 

